In Toronto’s financial district, three aging office buildings, two of them nearly a century old, were considered well worth the effort to restore for the needs of modern tenants as part of a large-scale redevelopment in the area.

Meanwhile uptown at the Yonge and Eglinton transit crossroads, a trio of commercial buildings, including two that are taller and half as old, have been deemed replaceable and are proposed for demolition.

Both district transformations are being steered by Oxford Properties Group. Andrew O’Neil, the company’s vice-president of development, says there’s no simple formula for calculating whether it makes more sense to renovate office buildings as opposed to tearing down and starting fresh.

“Each decision is made on the basis of the specific building characteristics and a range of factors,” Mr. O’Neil says. “The foremost question is always: How can we create a dynamic user experience that meets future needs?”

The character and history of Toronto’s financial district weighed heavily in the redevelopment of the Richmond-Adelaide Centre complex west of Bay Street.

Meanwhile, changing needs of the uptown Toronto community around Oxford’s complex at the southwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton – known as Canada Square – rendered the buildings there impractical to keep long-term as the corner becomes a major transit hub.

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